A velvet cushion earns its place. It softens a hard sofa, adds weight to a plain bed and gives a room the kind of depth flat weaves simply cannot match. It is also a fabric that shows every shortcut, from a thin pad to a puckered seam.

Buy well and you will keep it for years. Buy in a hurry and you will spend every evening plumping a sad, flat square. Here is what to check before you part with your money, roughly in the order it pays to think about it.

Start with the filling, not the cover

The cover gets the attention, but the pad decides how the cushion feels after a week. It is worth knowing what you are getting, because many velvet covers are sold empty and the pad is the part you can upgrade cheaply.

• Feather and down. The softest option. Sinks when you lean on it and needs a daily shake, but nothing else feels quite the same. Not the best choice if anyone in the house has dust or feather allergies.
• Hollowfibre (polyester). Springs back on its own, machine washable and inexpensive. Can go lumpy at the corners over a year or two.
• Foam or foam-wrapped. Firm and shape-holding. Good for lumbar cushions, window seats and anywhere you actually lean.
• Microfibre and wool blends. A sensible middle ground: decent loft, fewer stray feathers, less rustle than a cheap synthetic pad.

One rule solves most sagging cushions: buy the pad a size up. A 45cm cover wants a 50cm pad, and a 50cm cover wants a 55cm pad. If the pad is too small, no amount of plumping will fix it.

A cover is only ever as good as what you stuff inside it.

Also check whether the listing says "cover only" or "cover and pad", and look at the pad's own casing. A scratchy, noisy inner can ruin an otherwise lovely cushion.

Size and proportion: measure before you fall in love

Velvet cushions are heavy for their size, so an oversized one can overwhelm a small armchair. The common sizes in the UK are 45cm and 50cm squares, with 55cm and 60cm for large sofas and floor cushions, and 30cm to 35cm for smaller accents. Lumbar shapes are usually around 30cm by 50cm.

Before ordering, take a tape measure to the furniture. Check the seat depth: a 55cm cushion on a shallow sofa eats into the space where you sit. Check the back height too, so a tall cushion does not poke above the sofa frame. As a rough guide, two large cushions at each end of a sofa with one smaller cushion between them reads more relaxed than four identical squares lined up in a row. Odd numbers generally look less regimented than pairs.

Closure type, and what it tells you about quality

Velvet puckers around anything that pulls on it, so the closure matters more here than on a linen or cotton cover.

• Concealed zip. The neatest finish and the best choice for velvet. Check the zip length: on a 50cm cushion you want roughly a 45cm zip so you can fold a plump pad in without a wrestling match. A short zip is a false economy.
• Buttons. Charming, but velvet gathers and puckers around buttonholes, and the buttons press into your back if the cushion is used for support.
• Envelope or overlap back. No hardware to fail and easy to swap pads, but the overlap can gape on a full cushion. Velvet edges also fray more readily, so look for a bound or overlocked seam inside.
• Ties and poppers. Fine on decorative cushions that sit still. Less so on anything used daily.

Look closely at the zip colour. A white zip flashing out of a dark green velvet cover is the sort of detail that only becomes obvious once the cushion is on the sofa.

Colour matching: velvet shifts in the light

Velvet changes colour as the pile catches the light, which is exactly why it looks so rich and exactly why buying online is risky. A cushion that reads as deep emerald on a screen can look like flat mid-green on your sofa at four in the afternoon.

Order a swatch where you can, and look at it in three conditions: morning daylight, an overhead lamp, and evening with the curtains closed. Hold it against the sofa, the wall and any rug it will sit near. If a swatch is not available, buy one cushion first and live with it for a few days before ordering the rest.

Matching to a room's secondary colour is usually easier than matching its main one — a teal cushion in a grey-and-teal scheme will always sit better than one trying to echo the sofa exactly. And if you are placing velvet near dark denim, new wool or a heavily dyed throw, press your swatch against the fabric for a day to check nothing transfers.

Pile direction, fabric content and finish

Run your hand over a velvet cushion one way, then the other. The shade changes depending on which way the pile lies. If you are buying two or more of the same cushion, check the pile runs in the same direction on each, or they will look mismatched from across the room.

Content decides how the velvet behaves:

• Cotton velvet. Matte rather than shiny, hard-wearing and forgiving. A good family-sofa choice.
• Cotton and viscose blends. Deeper colour and a softer sheen, still reasonably robust.
• Viscose or rayon. The most luxurious lustre, but it creases and marks more easily.
• Polyester. Durable, easy to clean, but it can look flat under bright light.
• Silk blends. Beautiful and delicate. Strong sunlight will fade them over time.
• Crushed, devoré and embossed velvets. Pattern hides marks well; some printed velvets feel stiffer than plain ones.

Then turn the cushion inside out, literally or in the product photos. Check the seams are straight, the piping (if any) is even, and the pile has not been flattened at the fold lines.

Care labels: the bit most people skip

Read the care label before you buy, not after the first spill. If it is not visible in the listing, ask. Most velvet covers fall into one of two camps: dry clean only, or a gentle cold hand wash with a mild detergent. In both cases, the rules are similar.

1. Never tumble dry velvet, and never wring it out.
2. Dry flat, away from radiators and direct sun, which fades pile unevenly.
3. Steam from the reverse rather than pressing the pile flat. If you must iron, use the lowest setting with a cloth between iron and fabric.
4. Brush the pile back into line with a soft brush after cleaning, working in one direction.

For everyday upkeep, a lint roller handles pet hair, and a vacuum on low suction with an upholstery attachment lifts dust without bruising the pile. In busy houses, a removable, washable cover in a mid or dark tone will save you a great deal of grief.

The eight-point check before you pay

1. Filling. Feather for softness, foam for support, hollowfibre for easy washing — and does the price include a pad?
2. Pad size. One size larger than the cover, every time.
3. Cushion size. Measured against the actual sofa or chair, not your memory of it.
4. Closure. A concealed zip long enough to take a full pad, colour-matched to the velvet.
5. Colour. Seen as a swatch in your own light, ideally against the furniture it will sit on.
6. Pile. Running the same way across every cushion in the order.
7. Fabric and finish. Content suited to the room, seams straight, lining or overlocking present.
8. Care label and returns. Instructions you can live with, and a returns window long enough to change your mind.

If a seller cannot answer three or four of those questions, that tells you something useful. Otherwise, order the swatch, measure twice, and buy the cushions that will still look considered in five years' time rather than merely new this season.

Photo: wernerredlich / Pixabay